How Are E-Newsletters Really Read?

So you're ready to launch an e-newsletter.  And you're committed to making it very readable and intriguing to your customers or clients.  Here are some facts to keep in mind:

*The average time allocated to a newsletter after opening it is only 51 seconds.

*Only 19% of newsletter is likely to be fully read;  for the most part, readers scan.

*One third of the time, readers only skim a small portion of the newsletter before moving on.

*Most readers totally skip the introductory "fluff" text (67% move right to the "meat").

When writing an e-newsletter, keep it short.  Keep it simple. Keep it meaty and interesting.  And resist the urge to add lots of meaningless filler copy that is likely not to be read.